The VSAT network will be used to improve the credit reporting process, enhance store management, and ultimately, provide inventory tracking and management capability. HNS' well-established presence in the retail mall sector through its Retail Telecommunications Services (RTS) program was a deciding factor for Rack Room because approximately 120 Rack Room stores are located in malls.

RTS is a shared VSAT technology solution that establishes a single VSAT point-of-presence within the mall from which connectivity to all retailers in the mall is provided by a Hughes-engineered and-owned backbone wiring infrastructure.

The significant factor is that even the smaller retail chains within a mall environment that had heretofore been unable to avail themselves of the benefits of VSAT technology, can now gain access to the speed, security, and functionality that the technology provides.

Furthermore, in addition to being competitively priced, there is no capital investment required by the subscriber as all charges, including bandwidth, hardware, installation, and maintenance, are bundled into a fixed, low monthly service charge.

"After reviewing two VSAT providers, we chose HNS because of its dominant position in the market and its established presence in a majority of mall locations," said Harvey Borden, vice president of systems and logistics for Rack Room Shoes.

"We wanted to work with one company for the whole network and HNS provides an end-to-end solution from installing the equipment to bandwidth operations to maintenance. Also, HNS already has an established mall network through RTS, which demonstrates their expertise in the retail mall setting. We feel they are very competent, not only with network design and operations, but with the applications that go with it."

The HNS VSAT network will allow Rack Room, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, to process credit cards and perform check authorizations at greater speeds than the terrestrial dial-up system, which translates into improved customer service as customers will spend less time waiting in check-out lines.

The network also will allow Rack Room to poll their store managers nightly and check their databases in real-time, leading to improved store management.

Harry George, assistant vice president, Satellite Networks Division of HNS, said, "In the retail industry, improving customer service leads to greater customer satisfaction and to repeat customers. With the HNS VSAT network, Rack Room Shoes will be able to process transactions much more quickly than with their current terrestrial solution.

"HNS has established partnerships with most mall operators across the United States and Canada and as a consequence, will be able to establish their network in a fraction of the time that a company seeking to attain roof rights would take," he added.

Future applications for the network include inventory tracking and management capabilities that cannot be performed with the terrestrial system. For example, the VSAT network will allow employees at any store to check the inventory at the other stores.

Rack Room also plans to implement trickle polling in the future, which means data from their stores will be sent to headquarters throughout the day instead of all at the end of the day.

The HNS VSAT network will replace Rack Room's terrestrial-based system at 320 locations. Approximately 120 stores, which are located in malls, will use HNS' Retail Telecommunications Services. HNS will install the PES(TM) 5000 VSAT system at approximately 200 Rack Room locations.

ComStream Wins Argentina VSAT Deal

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Nanosatellite Puts Undergraduates In Space
Seattle - June 10, 1999 -
A group of undergraduate University of Washington students have completed the initial design for a nanosatellite that will study the earth's ionosphere and experiment with flying in precise formation with other satellites, a relatively new area of study that scientists say could pave the way for the next generation of aerospace endeavors.